It's quality of life that's key

THIS WEEK'S TOPIC: How do you personally see the increased prospects of living to 100 and beyond? What would be needed to support a society with a significant number of centenarians?

Chris Burton Managing Director Vistra Singapore and Malaysia

The prospect of living to 100 should be welcomed, provided centenarians can live an enjoyable life with purpose and meaning. Those with families will benefit from seeing new generations of children develop. There will be more opportunities to travel and learn. On the other hand, there will be many who do not have family support or are immobile. Society needs to boost healthcare provision, sponsor more social activities for less physically robust individuals, evolve robot technology solutions for the home, and cities need to reconsider their public transport systems. Business will see increasing proportions of elderly workers as birth rates decline, and the workplace needs to be more flexible, for example allowing workers to take leave of absence to care for elderly relatives.